Darcie

Susane Colasanti’s newest book Something Like Fate is simply a story about a girl who steals her best friend’s boyfriend. What makes this young adult read a little more interesting is that our protagonist Lani, the sweet and thoughtful good girl, does the boyfriend stealing, and with good reason.

Lani and Erin have been best friends ever since they were involved in a traumatic accident and Erin saved Lani’s life. When Erin gets a new boyfriend, Jason, Lani approves and the three have no trouble hanging out together. Erin then leaves for summer camp and Jason and Lani continue to be friends. However, Lani can’t stop thinking about Jason and how coincidental it is that their zodiac signs are compatible and he possess all the traits of “the one” that Lani learned of when she got her fortune read. It’s almost like Lani and Jason were supposed to be together, that it was fate that brought them into each other’s lives. Except it wasn’t fate, it was Erin, and now Lani has to decide if her friendship is worth more than finding the love of her life.

Once again Colasanti gives us a clean, thoughtful young adult read perfect for any teen.    

When Nico’s Aunt Sue calls him one day out of the blue, he is delighted to learn that little Lola will be coming to stay with him! But Lola isn’t Nico’s cousin, she’s Aunt Sue’s puppy- way more fun! Nico can’t stop imagining the adventures he and Lola will have, and when Aunt Sue arrives he knows that Lola will be a great puppy-friend to him. With heart warming pictures, this true story will make you love Lola just as much as Nico does.

Another great book in Gruley's mystery series set in Northern Michigan, The Hanging Tree is even better than its predecessor.

Reading Commencement reminded me of reading the book Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld.  The setting is at an expensive private college in New England, and the characters deal with many of the same identity issues and secret relationship dramas.  Commencement has four main characters who all met during their first year at Smith College: Celia, Sally, Bree, and April, four vastly different personalities that somehow become life-long friends.  Each chapter alternates in narration between each character as the women explain their present lives four years after graduating, complete with a flashback from her years at Smith College.  Although the characters are hard to love, I found that Sally was my favorite. It was hard to keep reading during the other girls' chapters.  The issues they deal with are unimportant and lack any real attention-grabbing details.  However, Sullivan goes overboard with attention-grabbing plot lines toward the end of the novel when she introduces a twist that is too far-fetched to fit in with the general fiction storyline of Commencement. Overall, this novel was pleasant and good enough to read when I had a few free moments, but definitely not a novel that I wanted to pick up every second.  Maybe it wasn't my cup of tea, but if you want something light and easy that doesn't require much thought, this is your book...

Tom Leveen’s book Party follows the overlapping stories of eleven teenagers on the first night of summer vacation.  The teens all have the intention of going to the party that night, but for many varying reasons. Some feel like they have to be there for the good of their social status, others are only going so they can forget about their home lives.  Each character interacts with the others in ways that change their views on life, love, and friendship.  A good novel for summer break that teaches teens that it’s okay to go out and have some fun, but be aware of the consequences… 

Another great mystery with a twist that makes Lisa Scottoline a fine author. Pick up your copy of Look Again today and receive 10% off because it's a New York Times Bestseller this week!